Her Wilted Rose
by ProfessionallyCrazedTrigunFan
Summary: She is no longer a child. She is a woman with a woman's feelings. And she plans to tell him such. But when she finds him slaughtered by a familiar face, can she pick up the pieces of her heart or will she risk everything for revenge? IK MS SR


**Disclaimer: **I do not, no matter how convincingly I may tell you otherwise, own any part of Inuyasha.

**Her Wilted Rose**

Splash. Large, doe-like brown eyes watched as ripples consumed the small pond. How long had it been? How long had it been since he had taken her in? She no longer knew. She couldn't remember exactly when things started to change within her. He still treated her as he always had. But she no longer felt the same. She was not a child anymore. And she wanted him to know that.

Rin stood, running her fingers through her tousled black hair.Lord Sesshoumaru need to be informed of her growing up. And she intended to make sure he was well-informed. Now she only had to find him. He spent much time in solitude these days. Even Jaken grew worried. Well, more than usual anyway. At the moment, he was running wildly in circles around her, yelling loud enough to attract any youkai within a fifty mile radius.

Rolling her eyes, she "accidentally" stuck her foot out, sending the imp hurling through the air to land in a pile of Ah and Un's dung. Rin prepared herself for the "lecture" that would follow. She was not disappointed. "You disrespectful little brat! Lord Sesshoumaru will hear of this and you will be punished for your impudence!" Jaken attempted to stand, but only succeeded in enmeshing himself in the dung further.

Rin, suppressing a frustrated sigh, stalked off to find their youkai master. She went crashing through the underbrush, seemingly wandering in some random direction. And she might as well have been, for all the good it was doing her. Where in the world did he get to when he went out alone? It was fairly obvious he didn't want company, because he made sure he was never found.

When Lord Sesshoumaru had found her and taken her in, she had felt immense gratitude. But now she knew that that gratitude had evolved into something else entirely. Something that frightened and thrilled her at the same time. She had grown up. She was a woman with a woman's feelings. She was no longer a naive child who needed to be sheltered from the world.

Her mouth set in a determined line, she trudged onward, though it was startingt to rain. She didn't care. She needed to find him and tell him now. The rain was coming down in slashing torrents now and her bare feet were covered in mud and grass. She hardly noticed. She hadn't worn anything on her feet in years.

All of a sudden, the ground slid out from beneath her feet. A mudslide. Rin tumbled in a river of mud down a steep hill, praying to reach the bottom soon while trying to breathe. A wave of mud rolled over her and sucked the breath right out of her. She knew, through the dim haze in her mind, that screaming was futile. No one would hear her pleas for help in this monstrosity of a storm.

Even if Lord Sesshoumaru were nearby, he would never pick up her scent in her mud-covered state. So Rin curled herself into a tight ball and prayed for the end. She would never get to tell him. It had all come down to this. Being trapped in a mudslide, helpless to prevent her imminent appointment with Death. It was really rather pathetic. And it was her own fault. She had seen the storm clouds. She had heard the distant rumble of thunder. So why had she bothered?

Now she would only place her death on Sesshoumaru's shoulders. If he even cared. She knew one thing for sure. No matter what the cold, distant youkai thought, he needed her. His pride and thousands of years of prejudice and hatred between youkai and humans prevented him from admitting that. Not such big obstacles. She mentally rolled her eyes. Here she was rolling down a muddy mountain of death and all she could think about was Sesshoumaru. Maybe if she spent more time on trying to figure out how to save her self, she wouldn't be having that thoughts. She had plenty of time to think of him later.

SMACK. What the hell? A branch? And still attached to a tree? She immediately saw the obvious way out of her predicament. Using her body's curled position to her advantage, she suddenly sprang towards the branch, propelled by the force of her sudden uncurling. She clung to the branch as a newborn clings to its newfound life. Rain was pouding her back, the mud threatening to drag her under again, and the force of the wind threatening to carry her off.

Screaming in frustration, she clawed her way up the branch, attempting to reach the tree to which it was attached. Hopefully. Digging her nails into the bark, she crawled, inch by torturous inch, up the branch to safety. Her muscles were screaming from exhaustion and overexertion and her lungs were threatening to give out. Angry tears poured out of her rain-beaten eyes. But still she climbed, until, finally, she had reached the tree. She positioned herself between two sturdy branches, and then, against all reason, fell asleep.

When she awoke, the sky was still dark, but the rain had ceased and the mud has stopped its stampede. Soggy, mudcaked, and ragged, Rin slid from the tree and for the first time in hours touched solid ground. She sighed in relief. It was over. And she was alive. She looked around. Whereever Lord Sesshoumaru had been, he most certainly wasn't likely to be there now. Meaning she would have to restart her search.

Rin let out a scream of rage. "DAMMIT! I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH TELLING HIM, BUT APPARENTLY THE WORLD DOES!" She kicked the very tree that had just saved her, earning her a sore toe. Needless to say, this didn't improve her sordid mood.

Some strange, yet familiar sounds drifted to her ears. The sound of battle. Someone was fighting nearby. Maybe they had seen Lord Sesshoumaru. She decided to find out. If she got killed in the process, then just screw it. She was half-dead already, why not just finish the damn job? She slid the rest of the way down the hill and followed the sounds to their source.

When she saw the sight before her, her blood ran cold. Her mind reeled and she swayed. The next thing she knew, she was on her knees, unintelligable screams issuing from her mouth. There, several yards away from the mangled body of her Lord Sesshoumaru, stood his half-brother. Inuyasha. His demon blood had taken over and driven him to kill Sesshoumaru. He had reverted back to his normal self and was staring at his brother's body in horror.

Rin half-crawled half-ran to her master's body. She cradled his head in her lap. "LORD SESSHOUMARU! LORD SESSHOUMARU! ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME PLEASE!" But he was already growing cold. "NO!" She was screaming, not even aware that she was shaking violently or that rivers of tears were pouring from her eyes. "LORD NO!"

No...it wasn't fair...she had never gotten to tell him...he would never know. And it was all _his_ fault. That stupid wretch of a half-demon that had been his brother had killed him. She hated him. No. She _loathed_ him with every fiber in her being. But there was nothing she could do. Even if she wanted to, she would never be strong enough to kill him. But..there was something else she could do.

She could take away the one he loved most, just as he'd done to her. She would take away his precious bitch Kagome. She would be the instrument of Inuyasha's suffering. And she would make sure he never forgot what he had done. And Rin had a feeling that if she asked, Jaken would help her as well. Hatred burning in her blood.

Her revenge would be like the red blood falling from crushed rose petals.


End file.
